Housings for portable notebook or clamshell-style computers can be made from a number of plastic panels or sections that are assembled onto a metal frame. The metal frame is structured to retain and attach together the computer's internal components. Such internal components can include a printed circuit board that carries the computer's central processor and any additional processors such as for graphics or the like as well as the computer's random-access memory (RAM). Additional components include batteries, input devices such as a keyboard and trackpad or the like, storage memory (such as a hard drive, solid-state drive, or the like, communications devices (such as for WiFi connection and networking), removable memory devices (such as CD- or DVD-R/W drives), and structures for external peripheral connections.
In a frame-based housing structure, all such components can be affixed to the frame, which itself can be made up of several different parts. The components of the housing are in turn attached to the frame to provide a somewhat uniform external appearance and to provide protection for the internal components. In a notebook (or clamshell) configuration, the arrangement just described can make up a base unit that is configured to rest on a surface. Another assembly in the form of a lid, or display, housing can be attached to the base housing by a hinge. The lid housing can include a video display, which can be in the form of a LCD panel with various forms of backlighting associated therewith. Similar to the base housing, the display (and any other components also included within the lid housing) can be affixed to another frame to which other housing sections or panels are affixed to enclose the lid assembly. The hinge can be attached to both the frame of the lid and the frame of the base with portions thereof extending through openings between or within the housing sections or panels.
The hinged attachment between the base and lid housings can allow the computer to be moved between open and closed configurations. The closed configuration being such that the lid is positioned against the base with the display and input devices positioned internally of the housing units for protection thereof during transportation. In the open configuration, the display is viewable and the input devices are accessible to the user. The lid can be rotated through a range of positions to provide for comfortable viewing of the display.
Such frame-based housing configurations can be complicated to assemble and to disassemble for repair or maintenance reasons. Further, they can be bulky due to the number of components and the complex assembly patterns required. Further, the number of joints or connections between components can provide a number of potential failure areas that can reduce the overall strength and protection provided by such housings.
While many notebook computers still use such a housing structure, other structures have been developed that seek to combine the utility of the frame into a part of the housing units and to reduce the overall number of exterior pieces that make up the housing. Such structures can be made from metal and can, for example, include in one unit the top wall of a base housing (that surrounds the keyboard) along with the front and side walls thereof. This unit can also have internal reinforcement and can include attachment structures (such as threaded holes) for attachment of the internal components). A separate unit can define the bottom wall of the base and can attach to the upper housing unit. Such structures can provide for easier assembly of components but can still include major failure locations along the large attachment areas between housing components.